Oh my gosh, I'm sooooooooooo sorry i haven't updated! I'll get right to the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this story. So, there.
Mirage POV
I woke to the smell of bacon and pancakes. This confused me for a second before I remembered where I was and how I got here.
Jack. I sighed wistfully. He's here. He's safe.
I felt the breeze of someone passing by, but before I had time to sit up, a crushing weight pinned me to my bed, driving the air from my lungs.
"Good morning," Jack whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling my ear.
"Get...off...me...you...fatso," I groaned, gasping for air.
He laughed and got up, pulling me with him. I leaned into him, not having the energy to stand up by myself. We stayed like that for a while, and to be honest, I nearly fell back asleep.
"I never got a chance to thank you for saving me," he said, rocking back and forth.
"Mmm," was my genius reply.
"So, thank you, Mirage, for saving my life."
I tried to say, "Anytime," but I think it came out more like, "Aaahh-ummm."
"You need to wake up."
"Mmm."
"There's bacon and pancakes."
"Mmm."
"I know how much you love pancakes." It was true. I once deprived IHOP of half a day's worth of pancake batter in 1 hour. Heaven.
"Mmmhmmm."
"You know, you're gonna have to walk to the kitchen sometime," Jack said after a short pause.
"Mmm."
He let out a huge, exasperated sigh. "Fine then. I'll just have to get you there myself."
My eyes flew open. I was instantly alert. I knew what was coming, but I didn't have time to move. "No!" I yelled, too late. My world had already been turned upside-down as he flung me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.
Knowing that it pointless to struggle, I pressed my palm against the small of his back.
I hate you, I thought moodily.
Of course you do. wonder if... His thought was cut off as he smothered our mental link.
"What?" I asked, genuinely curious. "What do you wonder?"
"Nothing of consequence," he said quickly, which basically meant it was super-important.
"Tell me," I demanded. But my authority was marred by the fact that he had me upside-down on his shoulder. Jerk.
"Mornin' Dr. M," Jack said cheerfully, worsening my mood. Stupid cheerful people.
"Good morning Jack! Oh, hello Mirage!" Dr. M practically sang.
"I hate you all."
"Ummm...panckes?" she offered, trying to ignore my dark mood.
"Eight please," Jack chirped. "How many you want, Mirage?"
"Shut up."
"Ooooohhh...It'll take at least 15 to cheer her up," Jack replied. He knew me too well.
"Set me down," I said indignantly, pounding my fists against his back.
"Okay, ow, ow...okay, jeez...ow," he complained as I was gently placed in the seat next to him. Much better.
"Thank you," I said, suddenly in a much better mood. "And yes, 15 pancakes would be awesome."
Dr. M continued making pancakes while I inhaled bacon and Jack mumbled something about me being bi-polar. I ignored him.
I spent the next half hour stuffing my face with pancakes, bacon, and orange juice. We played some board games with Ella (I tried not to use my power! I really did!), watched some TV, and generally relaxed. I, of course, went flying, leaving Jack to mope by the window. It was a short flight that gave me almost no satisfaction. That night, I flopped onto my bed, worn out from all the fun.
"Come in," I heard myself say.
I saw him slip through the door, closing it softly behind him. "Jack," I mumbled, holding out my arms. Not a second later, he was there, and the room seemed warmer, more comforting.
"I missed you," he whispered, his lips brushing my cheek. My heart immediately went into overdrive, thumping wildly in my chest.
"I missed you too," I mumbled, trying to keep my voice from shaking. We had never gotten this close before.
"How much did you miss me?" he asked. What a stupid question.
"So much," I answered honestly, my voice breaking. Our cheeks were touching, so I tried to convey the feeling of longing I had felt through all those weeks he was gone. But the link was closed off. "Hey," I protested. He knew what I meant.
"Oh, don't worry I can hear you," he assured me, gently stroking my hair. I sighed contentedly, almost forgetting the fact that he wouldn't let me into his head. Almost.
"Mmm...hey, let me in," I said, tapping his temple.
"You don't want to see what's in there," he said, completely catching me off guard. Was he...? No... He wouldn't.
"Are you..." I tried to voice the impossible. "Are you keeping secrets from me?"
There was silence. He didn't immediately deny it. This had to be some huge misun-
His voice interrupted my jumbled thoughts. "You kind of already know," he started slowly, "but you may not realize how much it...matters. To me."
His explanation did nothing to soothe my racing heart. I sat up, shaking in disbelief. "How-" I started to stutter. "How could you?" We had practically shared a brain since the day me met. Keeping a secret meant he was re-separating those brains.
He was pulling away from me.
"I'm not-"
"Not what? Not keeping secrets? That's not enough? You have to lie about it too?" Needless to say, I was furious. Crushed. Horrified. Scared.
"No." He said the word with such conviction and strength, my mind stopped racing. I settled down just enough to stop and listen. He sat up, gripping my head between his hands. "I just- I need you to listen. The thing is, I- I just," I squinted through the darkness, trying to read his face, and almost not believing what I saw there. His determined expression had turned squeamish, and he was...blushing?
What?
He sighed, giving up on words, and slowly opened his mind.
The feeling hit me like a landslide. It was unadulterated and raw, clawing its way through me, consuming everything in its path. I heard myself gasp. This couldn't be real. It was too good to be true.
I felt myself smile. Jack loved me. Not the brother-sister kind of love, but the true, deep-rooted love that was almost painful. Wait, I realized with a shock. It is painful.
I forced my eyes open, only to realize that I had thrown my arms around him, my nails digging into his injured wing. Oops.
"S-sorry," I stammered, quickly disentangling myself.
"Fine with me."
I risked a brief glance at his face, which turned out to be a big mistake. He was looking at me with an irresistible gleam in his eyes. It was almost hypnotizing, but I somehow managed to look away, blushing furiously.
I laid back down, half of me wishing it was a dream, the other half telling my first half to shut up and enjoy the moment. Jack, of course, lay down next to me while I concentrated on keeping my bones from turning to Jell-O. Then, I felt his arms encircle me, and I came this close to hyperventilating. But before my head had the chance to explode, his lips were on mine, warm and gentle, settling my nerves and calming my racing heart.
His hands moved to my back, rubbing the space between my wings, and my fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him ever closer. It was the perfect moment. Which means that something had to go horribly wrong.
The first sign was a slight tingle on my leg. I, of course, ignored it.
A moment later, the spot started to itch. I studiously focused on Jack.
Then, the itch started to move, starting at my ankle and moving up to the back of my knee. A horrible thought crossed my mind.
Oh, crap.
Lightning fast, I sprang to my feet, squealing and thrashing.
"What? What's wrong?" Jack yelled above my screeching.
I thing I might've said something like, "omagahgetioff!"
Anyway, I was freaking out and Jack was frantically trying to figure out why I was freaking out.
It was all very hectic.
After a while, Jack must have gathered his nerves, because I felt his hand clamp over my mouth, silencing me and stopping my flailing. My breathing eventually calmed, and he withdrew his hand, turning me around to face him. His eyes were wide and panicked, surely a reflection of my own.
"Explain," he demanded, reaching for my arm. I pulled back, suddenly embarrassed by my sudden outburst of terror.
"Ummm...it, uh... I guess it was just, um-" I stuttered nervously. If he knew what had interrupted our, er, moment, then he would never stop laughing. Ever. But what else could I do? Lying was out of the question, of course. There was no possible way to avoid the question- Jack wasn't one to give up. I ground my teeth in frustration. I would have to tell him.
"Well?" he asked, impatient for an answer.
"Well," I started slowly, "you remember that one night a couple months ago, when I found a spider in my hair and was too afraid to sleep for the next couple of days?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, I kinda freaked out now cause I felt this thing on my leg and I then I actually thought about it-"
"Wait," he interrupted me. "You freaked out cause of a bug?"
I looked at my shoes, ashamed. The amazing Mirage, escape artist extraordinaire, and world-renown...entomophobic. (A/N- that's severe fear of bugs)
Sure enough, Jack was trying to smother his laughter while I defended myself in vain. "But it was a cockroach! They're creepy and indestructible! Stop laughing at..." My voice petered out as he hugged me, his comforting thoughts swirling around in my head.
I love you so much, he thought unexpectedly, sending my head spinning and the blood rushing to my cheeks.
Even though I'm crazy? I asked, doubt still lingering in the back of my head.
You wouldn't be Mirage if you weren't
I smiled and climbed back into bed, finally falling asleep in Jack's warm embrace.
And there you have it. I figured that everyone has to have a weakness. Max's is emotion and Mirage's is...well...bugs. Hmm. Anyways, you know what to do. Read and Review!